ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the relationship of feminism and Marxism to ideas about democracy and socialism and about the relationship of Marxist and feminist perspectives to each other in the context of contemporary social movements in Latin America. The basic argument is that there is a growing convergence of thinking on issues that once divided or were the source of serious tension. The importance of pluralism and democracy and its relationship to the idea of plural social subjects or actors and the relationship of democracy to the principle of autonomy for popular organizations in their relationship to the state and to political parties. The appearance of a second wave of Latin American feminism is often attributed to an external international event: the United Nations Conference on Women held in Mexico City in 1975. An important aspect of the autonomy of popular organizations involves their relationship to a vanguard or cadre political organization.
